The best movies like ‘Black Swan’

The culture around high-end ballet is notoriously competitive, to the extent that numerous famous dancers have had both their body and emotional state damaged beyond repair while searching for perfection. The 2010 film Black Swan gets to the heart of this compulsion that some dancers have to be the very best, even at the expense of their mental and physical health. The hit movie racked up multiple awards nominations and was praised for its unique nature, as well as the strong performances by leads Natalie Portman and Mila Kunis.

Whiplash

Like Black Swan, this well regarded film is a tale of obsession and hard work to the point of abuse, although in the context of drumming instead of ballet. J.K Simmons stars alongside Miles Teller, with the former playing a mean-spirited drum teacher who spots an underutilized talent in Teller’s character and works him to the bone to make him the best he can be. Simmons won an Oscar for what is widely considered to be one of his best performances.

Fight Club

Few movies have had the cultural impact of this adaptation of Chuck Palahniuk’s novel of the same name. Many people who haven’t seen the film or read the book will still know the number one rule of Fight Club, which is that we don’t talk about it. As in Black Swan, mental illness and split personalities are at the heart of this film (and its famous ending), although the themes are a lot more explicitly political and anti-capitalist than the Natalie Portman movie. Edward Norton stars alongside Helena Bonham Carter and an unfathomably ripped/attractive Brad Pitt.

Synodoche, New York

Synedoche, New York follows Caden (Philip Seymour Hoffman) as a struggling theater director whose over the top commitment to his craft makes the lines between reality and fiction blur (which is an idea that runs strongly throughout Black Swan). Weird, wonderful, and obscure, this is a brilliant watch from start to finish, and captures the same sense of unease that permeates Darren Aronofsky’s ballet movie.

The Machinist

Obsession and paranoia are two of the most notable themes that run through this Christian Bale flick about a machinist who is unable to sleep for a year. As Bale’s character, Trevor, becomes more and more delusional, the audience is left wondering what’s real and what isn’t, much like in Black Swan. Although the premise and script aren’t the most innovative ideas in the world, Bale’s committed performance (for which he dropped his weight to a startling 120 pounds) is what turns this into a must-watch.

The Killing of a Sacred Deer

Creepy doesn’t begin to cover Barry Keoghan’s performance in this A24 pyschological thriller about a disturbed young man’s attempts to get justice from the surgeon who killed his father. There are some supernatural features here that are very typical of director Yorgos Lanthimos, and this combined with the incredibly dark and disturbing elements of this movie make it a perfect watch for fans of Black Swan.

Mulholland Drive

When it comes to strange, obscure movies that often end with audiences having more questions than answers, nobody can match David Lynch. Although there are a number of vignettes and side-plots, the main focus of the film is an aspiring actress named Betty (Naomi Watts) who becomes friends with a woman who is recovering from an automobile accident and suffering from amnesia as a result. The mix of female relationships, surreal imagery, and blending of reality and fiction is what makes this watch similar to Black Swan.

Birdman

Although this Oscar winner has a standout cast including Naomi Watts, Edward Norton, and Emma Stone, it’s all about the star Michael Keaton. Birdman follows a semi-washed up actor who once played the superhero Birdman as he attempts a Broadway comeback by partaking in an on-stage production of the famous Raymond Carver story “What We Talk About When We Talk About Love.” Again, obsession and mental illness are two of the driving concepts behind this dark comedy, which is why it will likely be enjoyed by fans of Black Swan.

Split

King of the twist ending M. Night Shayamalan directed this 2016 psychological thriller about a man with dissociative identity disorder (James McAvoy) who kidnaps three women before imprisoning them in a secret prison. As McAvoy’s character (Kevin) begins to unravel, we get a glimpse into the way his mind works, with some truly disturbing outcomes. As is the case in Black Swan, the theme of trauma and its effects on mental health propel this film.

The Perfection

High end competition is what pushes Portman’s character over the edge into insanity in Black Swan, and that same idea is utilized in the dark and disturbing The Perfection. It follows two cellists who embark on a dangerous game of cat and mouse driven by jealousy of each other’s talents. Although it isn’t quite as neat and innovative as Black Swan, and the characters are a little bit unbelievable at points, it definitely scratches the same itch.

Shutter Island

Another entry on this list, another film about mental illness with a massive twist at the end. Shutter Island stars Leonardo DiCaprio and Mark Ruffalo as two officers attempting to get to the bottom of a missing person’s case in an institution for the criminally disturbed. Through a combination of flashbacks and interrogation scenes, we get a look into how our characters (especially DiCaprio) got to where they are, and an unnerving sense of foreboding threads throughout the 139 minute run-time. Like Black Swan, there’s an unreliable narrator and a look into psychological illness, as well as plenty of tension and drama.